Examining ships that have made an impact on Naval Warfare and Naval History.

Welcome Aboard!

Hello out there! The purpose of this blog is to spread the word that Naval History is interesting and worth knowing. After searching the net, I couldn't find a single place that dealt solely with the subject of Naval Warfare, so I decided to create one. I will be posting pictures and text of various ships and will then describe what part those ships played in Naval Warfare and Naval History. For anyone interested in these subjects, I hope this will be your new home. Every Tuesday a new ship will be posted and each month I'll have a "Ship of the Month" displayed at the bottom of the blog. Both famous and not-so-famous ships will be highlighted. But what they all have in common is that, in some small way, they made an impact on Naval Warfare and Naval History. I think it's a historical lesson worth reading. I also hope you like what you see and I look forward to hearing from you. Thanks for dropping by.

Contact

This blog was created by Remo. I have been forced to close my "Comments" section due to the enormous amount of spam that is being sent to it. I just can't keep up with it anymore, so I decided to end the comments. People who flood blogs with spam are jerks and should be ashamed of themselves. Anyway, if you want to contact me, e-mail me at Libertyship46@aol.com. On balance, I get less spam via my e-mail account than in the "Comments" section of the blog. So if you want to make a comment, send me an e-mail. Other readers on the blog will not be able to see it, but at least I'll have some contact with the outside world! Thank you.

Total Pageviews

Monday, August 27, 2012

PLEASE NOTE: Due to a prior commitment, the ship that was to be posted on Tuesday, August 28, will be posted today, August 27. Thank You.

Figure 1:USS Worden (DD-352) at anchor, circa the later 1930s. Official
US Navy Photograph, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center. Click
on photograph for larger image.

Figure 2:USS Dobbin (AD-3) photographed circa 1937, with several
destroyers alongside. They include (from left to right): USS Phelps
(DD-360), USS Worden (DD-352), USS MacDonough (DD-351), USS Dewey
(DD-349), and USS Hull (DD-350). Note that some of these ships' hull
numbers are painted close to the waterline, while others are about midway
between the waterline and the weather deck. Courtesy of BMGC Ralph E. Turpin,
USN (Retired), 1963. US Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on
photograph for larger image.

Figure 3:USS Worden (DD-352) off the Mare Island Navy Yard, California, 21
November 1942. Note barrage balloons aloft in the distance. Photograph from the Bureau of
Ships Collection in the US National Archives. Click on photograph for larger
image.

Figure 4:USS Worden
(DD-352) at the Mare
Island Navy Yard, California, 21 November 1942. USS St. Louis (CL-49) is in the background. Circles mark recent shipyard
alterations to Worden. Photograph from the Bureau of Ships Collection
in the US National Archives. Click on photograph for larger image.

Figure 5:USS Worden
(DD-352)aground
in Constantine Harbor during the occupation of Amchitka, Aleutian Islands, Alaska,
on 12 January 1943. USS Dewey (DD-349), which unsuccessfully tried to
tow Worden off, is standing by in the left center. Official US Navy
Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives. Click on
photograph for larger image.

Figure 6:USS Worden (DD-352)aground in Constantine Harbor during the
occupation of Amchitka, Aleutian Islands, Alaska, on 12 January 1943. USS Dewey
(DD-349) is standing by at right to assist Worden. Official US Navy
Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives. Click on
photograph for larger image.

Figure 7:USS Worden (DD-352) sinking after she went aground in Constantine
Harbor during the occupation of Amchitka, Aleutian Islands, Alaska, on 12
January 1943. Note oil spreading around the ship. Official US Navy
Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives. Click on
photograph for larger image.

Figure 8:Boats removing USS Worden's (DD-352)
crew after she went aground in Constantine Harbor during the occupation of
Amchitka, Aleutian Islands, Alaska, on 12 January 1943. USS Dewey
(DD-349) is standing by in the foreground. The ship in the distance, in the
upper right, is USS Arthur Middleton (AP-55). Official US Navy
Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives. Click on
photograph for larger image.

Figure 9: USS Worden (DD-352) being
abandoned after going aground in Constantine Harbor during the occupation of
Amchitka, Aleutian Islands, Alaska, on 12 January 1943. Note men in the water
near the landing craft in the foreground and steam pouring from Worden's
stacks and midships area. Fourteen of her crewmen were lost in the icy waters
in this incident. Official US Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the
National Archives. Click on photograph for larger image.

Figure 10:Loss of USS Worden (DD-352).Worden lies capsized and
broken in two after she went aground in Constantine Harbor during the
occupation of Amchitka, Aleutian Islands, Alaska, on 12 January 1943. Official
US Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives. Click on
photograph for larger image.

Named after Rear Admiral John L. Worden (1818-1897), who was the
commander on board USS Monitor during her historic battle with CSS Virginia
on 9 March 1862, the 1,726-ton USS Worden (DD-352) was a Farragut
class destroyer that was built by the Puget Sound Navy Yard at Bremerton, Washington, and was commissioned on 15 January 1935. The ship was
approximately 341 feet long and 34 feet wide, had a top speed of 36 knots, and
had a crew of 186 officers and men. Worden was armed with five 5-inch guns,
four .50-caliber machine guns, eight 21-inch torpedo tubes, and depth charges.

After being commissioned, Worden completed her shakedown cruise
off the coast of Central America. After that, she steamed to the Atlantic for
several months before returning to the Pacific in August 1935. Worden
was based at San Diego, California, from 1935 to 1939 and sailed at various
times as far north as Alaska and as far south as Peru. The ship also
participated in naval exercises in the Caribbean, in the waters around Hawaii,
and off America’s west coast. In October 1939, after war began in Europe, Worden
was transferred to and based at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.

When the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on the morning of 7 December
1941, Worden was at anchor there next to the destroyer tender USS Dobbin
(AD-3). No bombs hit Worden, but a machine gunner on board the destroyer
managed to shoot down a low-flying Japanese aircraft. Within two hours after
the start of the attack, Worden was able to make steam and head out into
the open sea. Worden made numerous anti-submarine sweeps outside of
Pearl Harbor, making contact with at least one Japanese submarine later that
same day. After dropping roughly seven depth charges, contact was lost with the
target. Worden then joined a task force built around the light cruiser USS
Detroit (CL-8), which searched the seas southwest of Oahu for Japanese
warships. Worden eventually rendezvoused with the fleet oiler USS Neosho
(AO-23) and escorted her to a fueling rendezvous with Admiral Aubrey W. Fitch’s
Task Force TF-11, which was built around the aircraft carrier USS Lexington
(CV-2).

In the weeks following the attack on Pearl Harbor, Worden
participated in the abortive Wake Island relief expedition. The relief of Wake
Island was seen by Washington as not being worth the risk to the few remaining
American warships in the Pacific, so it was allowed to fall, condemning more
than 1,000 American sailors, Marines, and civilian construction workers to an
unimaginable hell as prisoners of war for the rest of the conflict. It was a
shameful example of the lack of will that paralyzed the American government
during those first few days of the war and what made it even more painful was
that the Americans on Wake were actually holding their own against the Japanese
onslaught, inflicting much damage on the invading enemy task force. But the
American forces couldn’t hold out forever and were forced to surrender when it
became clear that no help was coming.

Worden was
employed on patrol and escort duties during the first half of 1942, making two
round-trip voyages to the south Pacific between February and May. In early
June, Worden escorted US aircraft carriers during the pivotal Battle of
Midway. In July 1942, Worden returned to the south Pacific and in August
she escorted the carrier USS Saratoga (CV-3) during the American
invasion of Guadalcanal and Tulagi. Worden continued escorting Saratoga
during the Battle for the Eastern Solomon Islands later in that month. But less
than a week after the battle, a Japanese submarine torpedoed Saratoga
and put her out of action, forcing the carrier to return to the mainland United
States for repairs.

Worden was
ordered to return to the United States for an overhaul, arriving at the Puget
Sound Navy Yard on 14 October 1942. After the overhaul was completed, Worden
steamed south to San Francisco and on December 27 joined the invasion force for
the occupation of Amchitka Island in the Aleutians. Worden reached Dutch
Harbor, Alaska, on 1 January 1943 and on 12 January was guarding the transport Arthur
Middleton (AP-55) as she landed preliminary Army units on the shores of
Constantine Harbor at Amchitka Island. Worden carefully maneuvered into
the rock-strewn harbor and stayed there until the last Army troops left the
transport and arrived on shore. The destroyer then faced the difficult prospect
of leaving the small harbor.

Suddenly, a strong current pushed Worden onto a large pinnacle
or rock that tore up the ship’s hull beneath the engine room. This caused
massive flooding and an immediate loss of power. Worden’s sister ship,
USS Dewey (DD-349), passed a towline to Worden and attempted to
tow her off the rock, but the tow line parted and the heavy seas began moving Worden
towards the rocky coastline. Since Worden had no power, she was unable
to move away from the shore. The sinking ship was battered mercilessly by large
waves and soon Worden buckled and began breaking apart. Commander
William G. Pogue, Worden’s commanding officer, gave the order to abandon
ship. Small boats from other ships in the area arrived on the scene and began
removing Worden’s crew. But before this work could be completed, large
waves swept some men overboard and tossed them into the icy sea. One of the men
swept overboard was Commander Pogue. Pogue, though, was one of the lucky ones
because he was hauled, unconscious, out of the water. Sadly, fourteen of Worden’s
crewmembers drowned during the rescue effort. Worden gradually capsized
to starboard, broke in two, and sank.

USS Worden’s plight certainly confirmed the old adage that “The
sea is a demanding mistress.” In many
cases during World War II, the sea was as deadly an enemy as the Japanese or
the Germans. That the men on board these ships had to endure both harsh seas as
well as enemy attacks demonstrates the amount of courage and stamina that was
required of them throughout the war.

Figure
3:USS Sentry (AM-299) after she was transferred to the Republic of
Vietnam’s Navy in 1962. The ship was renamed Ky Hoa (HQ-09). Courtesy
Robert Hurst.Click on photograph for
larger image.

Figure 4:USS Sentry (AM-299) after she was
transferred to the Republic of Vietnam’s Navy in 1962. The ship was renamed Ky Hoa (HQ-09). Courtesy Robert Hurst.Click
on photograph for larger image.

The 945-ton
USS Sentry was an Admirable class minesweeper that was
built by the Winslow Marine Railway and Shipbuilding Company at Seattle,
Washington, and was commissioned on 30 May 1944. The ship was approximately 184
feet long and 33 feet wide, had a top speed of 15 knots, and had a crew of 104
officers and men. Sentry carried one
3-inch gun, two 40-mm guns, six 20-mm guns, one “Hedgehog” depth-charge
thrower, four depth-charge projectiles (known as “K-guns”), and two
depth-charge tracks, which made her heavily armed for a ship that size.

After
completing her shakedown cruise, Sentry
left San Francisco, California, on 28 August 1944 and steamed to Manus Island, New
Guinea, arriving there on 6 October. She joined the American invasion fleet
that was headed for Leyte in the Philippine Islands. Sentry arrived off the coast of Leyte on 17 October and swept for
sea mines for the next three days. Sentry
continued sweeping during and after the initial landings on Leyte on 20 October
and then was ordered to escort transports on 24 October. Although there were
few Japanese submarines in the area, the threat from Japanese aircraft,
especially the dreaded kamikaze suicide planes, was almost constant. Sentry’s anti-aircraft guns were useful
in protecting vulnerable transports from this airborne menace.

Sentry continued steaming off the coast of
Leyte for the next six weeks and participated in many of the subsequent
amphibious landings in the Philippines. The group she was attached to, Mine
Division 34, carried out pre-invasion sweeps at Ormoc Bay on 6 December 1944,
Mindoro Island on 14 December, Lingayen Gulf on 6 January 1945, and Zambales
and Subic Bay from 29 to 31 January. For every landing except the one made at
Ormoc Bay, Sentry remained near the
beaches until after the initial troop landings, helping to extend the mine-swept
areas and providing antisubmarine and antiaircraft protection for merchant
ships and transports. Sentry located
few mines, but the kamikaze attacks were intense, so her antiaircraft guns were
on constant alert and were often used to protect other ships.

On 13
February 1945, Sentry and the other
minesweepers in her division began pre-invasion sweeps in Manila Bay in
preparation for the landings at Mariveles and Corregidor. While sweeping for
mines off Corregidor on 14 February, Sentry
came within 5,000 yards of the island and was repeatedly straddled by Japanese
artillery shells before supporting American warships arrived on the scene and
silenced the enemy’s guns with their own gunfire. Sentry continued sweeping in Manila Bay until 19 February and Mine
Division 34 received the Navy Unit Commendation for their brave conduct during
the operations off Corregidor.

For
approximately the next ten weeks, Sentry
completed various minesweeping operations in support of smaller amphibious
assaults in the Philippines, with the most notable one being the pre-assault
sweep for the landings at Legaspi, Luzon, on 1 April, and an eight-day sweep in
the Sulu Sea off Palawan beginning on 22 April. On 9 May, Sentry arrived at Morotai Island (located in present-day Indonesia)
in preparation for amphibious landings in the Netherlands East Indies.

From 7 to 18
June 1945, Sentry participated in the
landings at Brunei Bay, Borneo. From 22 June and 15 July, Sentry swept for mines in preparation for the amphibious assault on
Balikpapan, Borneo. During both operations, Sentry
and her sister ships came under intense fire from shore batteries. One ship,
USS Salute (AM-294), was sunk by a
mine on 8 June. Sentry’s minesweeping
division received a Presidential Unit Citation for its service off Borneo.

After an
overhaul at Subic Bay in the Philippines, Sentry
left on 8 September and arrived after the end of the war at Sasebo, Japan, on
20 October. Throughout the following weeks, Sentry
swept Japanese minefields off the Ryukyus Islands, in the Tsushima Strait, and in
the Van Diemen Strait. Sentry left Sasebo
on 9 December 1945 and headed back to the United States. She arrived at Orange,
Texas, on 2 April 1946 and was decommissioned there on 19 June. The ship was
placed in reserve and her classification was changed to fleet minesweeper
(steel hull) MSF-299 on 7 February 1955. Sentry
was struck from the Navy List on 1 February 1962 and was transferred to the
Republic of Vietnam on 31 August of that same year. She was renamed Ky Hoa (HQ-09) and her final fate is
unknown. USS Sentry was awarded six
battle stars for her service during World War II, an impressive number for such
a small ship.

Minesweeping is
incredibly dangerous even under the best of circumstances. But with shore
batteries firing at you or with kamikaze aircraft trying to destroy you, the
job became that much harder. USS Sentry
was a fine example of a ship doing a difficult job under extremely dangerous
conditions. No wonder the ship and her crew received so many awards during
World War II.

Tuesday, August 14, 2012

Figure 1:Picket Boat No. 1 (1864). Engraved reproduction of a wash drawing by R.G. Skerrett, 1900. This
craft, armed as a spar-torpedo launch, was used by Lieutenant William B.
Cushing to sink the Confederate ironclad Albemarle on the night of 27-28
October 1864. US Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for
larger image.

Figure 2:"Cushing's Torpedo Boat." Photograph of a general arrangement drawing of
the boat and its spar torpedo. The original plan appears to be of 19th century
vintage and is drawn on cloth. Lieutenant William B. Cushing used US Navy Picket
Boat No. 1 to sink the Confederate ironclad Albemarle on the night
of 27-28 October 1864. US Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on
photograph for larger image.

Figure 3:"Screw Picket Boat, Constructed for the Navy Department." General arrangement
diagram published in Submarine Warfare,
Offensive and Defensive, by Lieutenant Commander J.S. Barnes, USN, 1869. The
drawing also includes detail drawings of the spar torpedo carried by this boat.
This craft is similar to Picket Boat No. 1, which was used by Lieutenant
William B. Cushing to sink the Confederate ironclad Albemarle on the
night of 27-28 October 1864. US Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on
photograph for larger image.

Figure 5:Nineteenth century
engraving of CSS Albemarleas she appeared "ready for action.” US
Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.

Figure 6:Lieutenant William B. Cushing, USN. Photograph taken circa 1864. The original
photograph is in the collections of the US National Archives. US Naval
Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.

Figure 9:"Wood versus Iron." Nineteenth century photograph of an artwork by
Acting Second Engineer Alexander C. Stuart, USN, 1864. It shows CSS Albemarle
engaging several Federal gunboats on Albemarle Sound, North Carolina, on 5 May
1864. USS Sassacus is in left center, ramming the Confederate ironclad.
Other US Navy ships seen are (from left): Commodore Hull, Wyalusing
and Mattabesett. The Confederate transport Bombshell, captured
during the action, is in the right background. Albemarle was not
significantly damaged during this action, which left Sassacus disabled
by a hit in one of her boilers. Collection of Surgeon H.P. Babcock, presented
by George R. Babcock, 1938. US Naval Historical Center Photograph.Click on photograph for larger image.

Figure 10:"Cushing’s Daring and Successful Exploit." Artwork by Bacon,
published in Deeds of Valor, Volume
II, page 74, by the Perrien-Keydel Company, Detroit, 1907. It depicts the
attack on CSS Albemarle by a torpedo launch commanded by Lieutenant
William B. Cushing, USN, at Plymouth, North Carolina, 27 October 1864. The
torpedo boat is shown crashing over Albemarle's protective log boom to
deliver its torpedo against the ironclad's hull. US Naval Historical Center
Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.

Figure 11:CSS Albemarleis torpedoed and sunk by Lieutenant William B.
Cushing's torpedo launch at Plymouth, North Carolina, 27 October 1864. Phototype
published by F. Gutekunst, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, circa the later 19th century.
Print from the Skerrett Collection, Bethlehem Steel Company Archives. US
Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.

Figure 12:“Lieutenant Cushing's Torpedo Boat sinking the Albemarle on Roanoke River, N.C." Engraving by A.
Stachic, published in Naval Battles of
America, by E. Shippen. It depicts the successful spar torpedo attack by
Lieutenant William B. Cushing and his crew on the Confederate ironclad Albemarle,
at Plymouth, North Carolina, 27 October 1864. US Naval Historical Center
Photograph.Click on photograph for
larger image.

Figure 13:CSS Albemarleat the Norfolk Navy Yard, Virginia, after she
was salvaged, circa 1865. Two ladies are standing on her deck, near a section
of displaced casemate armor. Courtesy of Mr. J.C. Hanscom. US Naval
Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.

Figure 15:Katherine Louise Forbes Cushing, married to Lieutenant Commander William B. Cushing. Photograph taken circa
1870, when she married Lieutenant Commander Cushing. US Naval Historical
Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.

Named after a
town and a sound in North Carolina, and a county in Virginia, the 376-ton CSS Albemarle was an ironclad ram of the
Confederate Navy and was built in a cornfield on the banks of the Roanoke River
in North Carolina. The ship was commissioned in 1864 and was approximately 158
feet long and 35 feet wide, had a top speed of 4 knots, and had a crew of 150
officers and men. Albemarle was armed
with two 6.4-inch Brooke cannons, each able to pivot and shoot out of three gun
ports.

Albemarle had a very low silhouette and thick
iron plating along her sloped sides, making her a difficult ship to sink.
Almost as soon as she was commissioned, Albemarle
was sent into action. On 19 April 1864, Albemarle
attacked Union warships off Plymouth, North Carolina, sinking USS Southfield and driving away USS Miami and two other gunboats. With their
waterborne communications severed, the Union Army was forced to surrender
Plymouth to the Confederates.

Just over two
weeks later, on 5 May 1864, Albemarle,
accompanied by the steamers Cotton Plant and
Bombshell, steamed into the North
Carolina Sounds and attacked another US Navy task force, consisting of the “double-ender”
gunboats USS Sassacus, USS Wyalusing, USS Mattabesett, the converted ferryboat Commodore Hull, and the small gunboat Ceres. Sassacus made a courageous
effort to sink Albemarle by ramming,
but she was badly damaged in the process. Albemarle,
though, was only damaged lightly during the battle and managed to escape. With Albemarle seemingly impervious to both
cannon fire and ramming, all Union warships along the coast of North Carolina
were now in danger of being sunk by this ironclad. Something had to be done,
and quickly, before the Union’s entire position along North Carolina’s inland
waters and coastline was placed in jeopardy.

William
Barker Cushing was an amazing man. Born in Delafield, Wisconsin, on 4 November
1842, Cushing spent most of his childhood in Fredonia, New York. He attended
the US Naval Academy from 1857 to March 1861, when his high-spirited behavior
led to his resignation. But the start of the Civil War brought Cushing back
into the Navy, and he soon distinguished himself as an officer of great
initiative and courage. Promoted to the rank of Lieutenant in mid-1862, Cushing
served as executive officer of the gunboat Commodore
Perry and then was given command of the tug Ellis, which was lost under heroic circumstances on 25 November
1862. He subsequently commanded the gunboats Commodore Barney, Shokokon,
and Monticello. During this time, he
led several daring reconnaissance and raiding excursions into areas controlled
by the Confederates.

With the
ironclad Albemarle menacing the
inland waterways and coast of North Carolina, a daring plan was needed to sink
that ship. Cushing came up with a plan. Cushing proposed to take a spar torpedo
boat, known as Picket Boat Number 1, and ram Albemarle under the cover of darkness. A spar torpedo was basically
a large bomb that was attached to the end of a long pole, or spar. That spar
was in turn attached to a small steamboat. The steamboat was aimed at the
target and, as soon as it was close enough, the bomb (or torpedo, as it was
known back then) at the end of the long spar would be driven into the side of
the enemy ship. The bomb was often equipped with a barbed spear at the end, so
that it would stick to a wooden hull. The picket boat would then back off, at
which point the bomb was detonated by a spring-loaded trigger that was
activated by a long cord attached to the picket boat. When the limit of the
trigger cord was reached, the cord activated the trigger and the bomb (or
torpedo) exploded. The only problem with this plan was that nobody really
considered what would happen to the men inside of the picket boat once the
torpedo exploded. Considering the fact that the bomb would detonate right next
to and underneath the picket boat, the chances of surviving such an attack were
virtually nil.

None of these
problems, though, seemed to discourage Cushing. He was given command of Picket Boat Number 1, along with its
crew of 14 men. The steamboat was approximately 45 feet long and nine feet wide
and was armed with one 12-pounder howitzer along with the spar torpedo. Picket Boat Number 1 had a top speed of
roughly 7 knots and was sent on its deadly (some would say suicidal) mission on
the night of 27 October 1864. Cushing took Picket
Boat Number 1 up the Roanoke River near Plymouth, North Carolina, and
spotted Albemarle. The ironclad was
moored to the shore just below the town dock and was protected in the river by
a log boom several feet out from her hull. As Cushing approached Albemarle in his little steamboat, he
was hailed by some men on board the Confederate warship. Cushing ignored the
call to stop and steamed directly toward the ironclad at full speed. At the
same time, his boat came under heavy rifle fire. Picket Boat Number 1 hit the log boom but slid right over it,
allowing Cushing to drive the spar torpedo into Albemarle below the waterline. There was a huge explosion and the
heavy ironclad sank quickly. Miraculously, Cushing and his crew were still
alive after the bomb went off. Cushing told his men to jump overboard and try
to make it to safety. He and a seaman swam away and succeeded in getting back
to some nearby Union gunboats but, except for two men killed, Picket Boat Number 1 and the rest of the
boat’s crew were captured.

The sinking
of CSS Albemarle represented a big
setback for the Confederacy and soon after the attack the Union Army captured
Plymouth. The town and the area around it remained in Federal hands for the
rest of the war. The Union warships on the Roanoke River and along the coast of
North Carolina were also free to attack Confederate forces with impunity now
that the dreaded enemy ironclad was gone.

The attack on
Albemarle made Cushing a national
hero and he was quickly promoted to the rank of Lieutenant Commander. In
January 1865, Cushing again distinguished himself in battle by helping to lead
the US Navy landing force that captured Fort Fisher from the Confederates in
North Carolina. Following the Civil War, Lieutenant Commander Cushing was
executive officer of USS Lancaster
and commanding officer of USS Maumee.
On 12 February 1870, Cushing married Katherine Louise Forbes of Fredonia, New
York, and the couple had two daughters, Marie Louise Cushing (born in December
1871) and Katherine Abell Cushing (born in October 1873). Cushing was promoted
to Commander in 1872 and was captain of USS Wyoming
from 1873 to 1874. In November 1873, Cushing boldly confronted Spanish
authorities in Cuba to save the lives of many passengers and crew of the
steamer Virginius, which had been
captured bringing men and supplies to Cuban revolutionaries. But while serving
as executive officer of the Washington Navy Yard at Washington, DC, Commander
Cushing’s health declined and he died on 17 December 1874, cutting short a
brilliant naval career.

After
Plymouth, North Carolina, was captured by Union forces, Albemarle was salvaged and refloated. She was brought to the
Norfolk Navy Yard at Norfolk, Virginia, in April 1865 and remained there until
she was sold in October 1867, probably for scrap.

The remarkable saga
of Lieutenant Cushing and Picket Boat
Number 1 will live in the annals of US Naval history. It showed that small
ships had the potential to sink much larger opponents and it also demonstrated
the value of this new invention called the “torpedo.” Less than 80 years later,
American motor torpedo boats (or “PT” boats), armed with far heavier weapons
and modern-day torpedoes, would also attack warships far bigger than
themselves, carrying on a tradition that was begun by Lieutenant Cushing in
1864 with the attack on the CSS Albemarle.

Ship of the Month: USS Wandank

The 795-ton USS Wandank (AT-26) was an Algorma class fleet tug that was built by the Ferguson Steel and Iron Company at Buffalo, New York, and was commissioned on 23 March 1920. The ship was approximately 156 feet long and 30 feet wide, had a top speed of 13 knots, and had a crew of 25 officers and men. For roughly 20 years after being commissioned, Wandank worked along America’s east coast, primarily near her base at Norfolk, Virginia. In 1939, she assisted with the rescue and salvage efforts for the submarine USS Squalus (SS-192), which had accidently sunk off Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Wandank then was based at Boston, Massachusetts, in October 1940 and remained there throughout World War II. Her designation was changed to ATO-26 in May of 1944. Wandank was decommissioned in September 1946 and in July 1947 was sold to a commercial firm in New Orleans, Louisiana, which operated her under the name of W.A. Bisso. The tug was scrapped in 1971 after being in service for 51 years. The photograph shows USS Wandank at Boston circa the later 1920s or early 1930s. USS Constitution is on the opposite side of the pier. US Naval Historical Center Photograph.